Publication Archive

 

 

This archive contains all documents published by cep over the last few years:

cepAdhoc: Incisive comment on current EU policy issues

cepPolicyBrief: Concise reviews of EU proposals (Regulations, Directives, Green Papers, White Papers, Communications) – including an executive summary

cepInput: Impulse to current challenges of EU policies

cepStudy: Comprehensive examination of EU policy proposals affecting the economy

 

 

2014

Airlines can only emit greenhouse gases if they own the corresponding emission rights ("certificates"). Since 2012, all flights have, in principle, been obliged to own certificates for the entire flight distance between two EU airports and flights between an EU airport and an airport in a non-EU country. As the inclusion of aviation in the EU Emission Trading System (ETS) has come up against considerable international opposition, the EU resolved that, in 2012, the ETS would only apply to flights between EU airports. The European Commission now proposes that airlines should require certificates for emissions from flights to and from third party countries between 2014 and 2020 in respect of the distance flown over the European Economic Area (EEA).

2014

The Communication sets out the up-dated EU crisis rules for state aid to banks during the crisis from 1st August 2013. It replaces the 2008 Banking Communication and supplements the remaining crisis rules. Together, they define the common EU conditions under which Member States can support banks with funding guarantees, recapitalisations or asset relief and the requirements for a restructuring plan.

2014

The Commission intends all phases of the public procurement process to take place electronically from end to end and software systems for this to be compatible EU-wide. A binding European standard is to be developed for electronic invoicing, in particular.

2014

Youth unemployment has risen dramatically as a consequence of the economic and debt crisis in the EU. The Commission presents the Member States with various measures to combat the high youth unemployment level. In this regard it emphasises that the Member States can only increase their competitiveness and thereby achieve more growth and employment by way of “deep structural reforms”.

2014

The European Commission initially wants to adopt non-binding guidelines to make it easier for the Member States to adapt to the negative consequences of climate change. For this purpose, the Commission wants to support the build-up and provision of knowledge about adaptation measures. In addition, the European standardisation organisations are to examine whether industry standards, in the areas of energy, transport and construction, take sufficient account of climate change.

2014

The Commission wants to harmonise consumer protection for travellers. For this purpose, bookings in travel agents and online will be placed on an equal footing.

2014

The EU Commission proposes an extensive overhaul of the digital single market rules. Part 1 of the cepPolicyBrief concerns net neutrality and the full harmonisation of the rights of end-users. Part 2 deals with the notification requirement for telecomms providers, radio frequencies and virtual broadband access. The change to the Roaming Regulation and cross-border fixed-network connections within the EU will be considered in Part 3.

2014

With the creation of a new type of European investment fund (ELTIF), the Commission wants to channel "patient" capital from both professional and retail investors into infrastructure projects, property and non-listed companies.

2014

The Commission recommends that the Member States introduce collective actions. Collective actions refers to actions brought by two or more affected parties or by an authority or entity on their behalf. Collective actions should facilitate the enforcement of legal rights, particularly where individual actions are too costly for affected parties.

2014

The European Commission wants to bring in a system to monitor, report and verify CO2 emissions and other climate-relevant information from ships ("MRV system").  On the one hand, the data will create a basis for further political measures. On the other, companies will gain a better overview of cost reductions.

2014

European airspace is currently divided on the basis of national boundaries rather than in order to optimise the flow of traffic. For the establishment of a "Single European Sky” (SES), the EU issued four Regulations in 2004 (SES I) and modified them in 2009 (SES II). As there were significant delays in the implementation of SES I and SES II, the proposed Regulation (SES II+) aims to speed up the process of establishing the SES.

2014

The Commission wants to increase the distribution of building insurance for elemental damage and ensure that industrial companies can afford to remedy environmental damage.

2014

The Commission wants to integrate the public employment services (PES) in the Member States into a formal network and improve their efficiency by way of a benchmarking system.

2014

EU competition law is enforced by competition authorities who find infringements of competition law and, where applicable, impose fines, and by victims who bring actions for damages before national courts. With this Directive, the Commission is seeking, on the one hand, to ensure that victims of an infringement of competition law throughout the EU are able to enforce their right to full damages. On the other hand, it wants to ensure the coordination of enforcement by way of actions for damages and enforcement by way of the competition authorities.

2014

In order to promote the deployment of broadband, the Commission wants to reduce construction costs.

2014

The European Commission wants to increase competition for seaport services in important EU ports by extending the freedom to provide services to include port services. It also wants to make the financial relations between public authorities and port service providers more transparent and strengthen the autonomy of port management bodies to set their own infrastructure charges in order to improve investment conditions.

2014

The Commission proposes that, in future, it will decide, together with a new Resolution Board, on the resolution of banks in SSM States. In addition, a Single Resolution Fund will be set up to finance the resolution costs.

2014

The European Commission has proposed a "Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package" containing, in particular, a proposal for a Regulation on consumer product safety and a proposal for a Regulation on the regulatory market surveillance of products. The proposal for a Regulation on product safety aims to simplify the different rules on consumer product safety as well as ensuring that consumer products are safe.

2014

The European Commission has proposed a "Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package" containing, in particular, a proposal for a Regulation on consumer product safety and a proposal for a Regulation on the regulatory market surveillance of products. With its proposal for a Regulation on market surveillance, the Commission wants to prevent, by way of effective and EU-wide market surveillance, the distribution of products which represent a risk to any aspect of public interest protection, such as health, safety, consumer protection and the environment.

2014

The Commission wants to grant all EU citizens the right to have a payment account with basic features (basic account), make it easier to switch banks, particularly across borders, and improve the transparency and comparability of fees.